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Delivery time: 4-6 weeks
Click on specifications to know all benefits of this limited collection offer

INCLUDED: MAGLIA ROSA SIGNED FROM GIOVANNI BATTAGLIN

Discover the rarest steel frame ever made by the winner of the Giro-Vuelta
double in 1981.

On July 22, 2016, Giovanni Battaglin turned 65.
He has spent nearly all of his life with steel bicycles. Riding,
designing and building them.
Since 1981, when he won the Giro-Vuelta double and launched
his eponymous bikes, thousands of cyclists all over the world
have pedaled on Battaglins made from Columbus tubing.
What better way to celebrate his 65th birthday than an exclusive
series of steel frames?
Officina Battaglin, the brand which stands for Giovanni’s return
to handcrafting steel in Italy, unveils the Collezione Speciale.

It’s a limited edition of 65 classic lugged
framesets with unique and laborious
finishes that will get cycling connoisseurs
gathering around for a closer look.
Ownership is about predilection towards
100% pure Italian beauty. It’s the privilege
of showing off the highlight of the
Battaglin craftsmanship in your private
collection.
Each frame has an engraved plaque
brazed to the top tube certifying the
authenticity and carrying the sequential
number. The first one will be built in size
54, the measurement that Giovanni Battaglin
required for his bikes in his racing
career.

BEHIND THE SCENES OF THE
COLLEZIONE SPECIALE

1. Columbus SL
Did you use to a ride a road bicycle between the
70’s and the 80’s? If yes, then you will appreciate
for sure the Columbus SL decal on the seat tube.
While the name of the tube set has remained
unchanged for thirty years, with Columbus’ new
steel alloys it’s now possible to draw lighter and
thinner-walled tubing.

2. Tube cutting and milling
In the workshop, we cut and mill the tubes on CNC
machinery, which makes all the difference in ensuring
strong joints.
Some of the equipment we dusted off when we
went back to steel two years ago include brilliant
pieces of cycling engineering, designed and
produced exclusively for Battaglin back in the 80s.
These machines allow us to set the angle of the cut,
so perfect miters come out of the rotating chunk.
Why is accuracy so important in this phase of the
process?
Too much gap between two tubes mating inside
the lug affects how the joint withstands stresses,
making the frame more prone to fail. Unfortunately,
when the frameset features lugs, it’s impossible to
spot if the frame builder has managed to shape water-
tight miters, but on the other side no hand work
can compare to our machines’ precision.
Cutting and milling the tubing lay the groundwork
for a durable build. Even if these operations aren’t
as fascinating as melting a rod inside the lugs, the
work of preparation before brazing the frameset is
as important as brazing proficiently.

3. Pantographing
The hand-painted pantographing will provide you
with a snapshot of how a real Italian-made classic
frame should look. By etching the Officina Battaglin
logo on the head tube, the pantographer accents
the Collezione Speciale frames with the level of
detail expected by every devotee of rare steel.

4.Brazing
Brazing is the heart of the frame building
process. For classic lugged frames like the
Collezione Speciale, this means filling the gap
between the lug and the tube with melted
brass.
The joints are the parts of the frame where
stresses intensify when pedaling. The
purpose of using cast lugs is to reinforce the
area where two tubes meet, so the bike will
damp vibrations better, providing a smoother
ride. Italian craftsmen were the masters of
lugged construction, and if you have a soft
spot for classic Italian bicycles, there’s a
good chance you love lugs for their appeal
as we do.
Thanks to a low-temperature brazing process,
we avoid heating up the joints excessively
and decreasing steel’s strength. That’s
why we are so convinced of the durability of
the frame to back it up with our “One Million
Miles Warranty”.

5. Polishing
Polishing is an essential step to getting the
reflective surface under the red paint that
makes the Collezione Speciale so different
from all the other Battaglin steel frames
that have gone before it. With cloth buffing
wheels and abrasive pastes, the polisher
buffs every frame part to a mirror finish. The
more it gleams, the better it will show after
chrome-plating.

6. Chrome-plating
Not only is chrome-plating a gorgeous touch that naturally draws
admiring looks, but it’s also a treatment to protect steel from rust
and scratches for years of use. The process of the chrome-plating
shop we rely on consists of dipping the frame by hand in 19
different tanks to apply a layer of chromium on the whole surface,
both internally and externally.
It’s the same shop that used to take care of the Battaglin frames
back in the 80s, with expertise passed from father to son. Both
have rejected automation and have managed to preserve a
manual process. The reason for this is that while performing the
immersions manually might be time-consuming, it results in a
thicker coating than industrial plating, making for the long-lasting
beauty of the Collezione Speciale frames.